Thomas Was Alone - PlayStation 3http://www.gameinformer.com/games/thomas_was_alone/b/ps3/default.aspxen-USTelligent Community 1.5.134.12297 (Build: 5.5.134.12297)The Story Of The Sympathetic Quadrilateralshttp://www.gameinformer.com/games/thomas_was_alone/b/ps3/archive/2013/04/26/the-story-of-the-sympathetic-quadrilaterals.aspxFri, 26 Apr 2013 21:54:00 GMT79ef0c18-1c65-4225-984f-fdaeab0f0862:2787820Kyle Hilliard0<p><img src="http://media1.gameinformer.com/imagefeed/featured/sony2013/indie/thomaswasalone/twa_610review.jpg" style="max-width:610px;" border="0" alt="" /></p>
<p>The PlayStation 3 and the Vita are increasingly becoming the home of choice for fascinating independent video game experiences. Thomas Was Alone is one these titles.</p>
<p>Explaining what makes Thomas and his geometric friends so interesting is difficult. The hyper-simplified art direction means every element of the game is built with simple geometric shapes. The most complicated it ever gets is animated water that sometimes impedes your progress. The simple design, however, is all in service to precise platforming. Everything about controlling Thomas and his assorted quadrilateral friends (and frenemies) is sanded down to perfection. Everything runs smoothly, and all the right angles mean you never have any doubt in regard to when you may fall off a ledge, or where you need to land. </p>
<p>Thomas is a suddenly self-aware artificial intelligence who is trying to escape a game-like mainframe. Along the way, you meet and control other self-aware AIs that all have assorted abilities and limitations. One character floats in water providing a makeshift boat, another double jumps, and another serves as a sort of trampoline.&nbsp; The goal is to get each character to their designated level exits simultaneously. Players switch between each of the available characters and use teamwork to make it through. Controlling the characters feels perfect, and the difficultly curve eases you into each new puzzle without the need for tutorials.</p>
<p>(Please visit the site to view this media)</p>
<p>No cutscenes or character dialogue directs the story. Instead, a narrator with a delightful British accent provides insight into the characters&rsquo; personal motivations and insecurities. The narration adds humor, but also makes the unassuming shapes feel real and sympathetic. Even with common forgettable names like Thomas or Chris, I can tell you the general personality of each character and their relationships to one another based entirely on the three or four sentences of narration that plays during each level. Their designs may just be variations of colors and four-sided shapes, but I quickly grew to like every member of Thomas Was Alone&rsquo;s cast.</p>
<p>Though entertaining, the experience struggles with tedium. Switching between characters means that often you must repeat patterns and cover familiar ground to retrieve them at the end. You also use characters to create stairways for the weakest jumpers, which involves repeated repositioning of up to five characters over and over again. The puzzles and stages are never overly difficult, but moving through the motions character by character can feel like work instead of play.</p>
<p>Thomas Was Alone is an abstract experience, but it&rsquo;s a rewarding one that encourages continued exploration. Simple shapes and environments make it seem limited at first, but it crafts new puzzle solutions in its geometric world with each new level. Developer Mike Bithell clearly has a strong passion and understanding for what makes the medium of video games interesting and worth exploring.</p>
<div style="clear:both;"></div><img src="http://www.gameinformer.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=2787820" width="1" height="1">PlayStation 3PlatformingThomas Was AloneReviewMinimalist Puzzle/Platformer Shines On Vita & PS3http://www.gameinformer.com/games/thomas_was_alone/b/ps3/archive/2013/03/26/minimalist-puzzle-platformer-shines-on-vita-amp-ps3.aspxTue, 26 Mar 2013 11:19:00 GMT79ef0c18-1c65-4225-984f-fdaeab0f0862:2683279Tim Turi14http://www.gameinformer.com/games/thomas_was_alone/b/ps3/rsscomments.aspx?WeblogPostID=2683279http://www.gameinformer.com/games/thomas_was_alone/b/ps3/archive/2013/03/26/minimalist-puzzle-platformer-shines-on-vita-amp-ps3.aspx#comments<p><img border="0" src="http://media1.gameinformer.com/imagefeed/featured/sony2013/indie/thomaswasalone/thomaswasalone-1214-610.jpg" style="max-width:610px;" alt="" /></p>
<p>The PC indie puzzle platformer, <a href="http://www.thomaswasalone.com/%20">Thomas Was Alone</a>, has received much praise since its release last July. The game is now being ported to the PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 3, so players can solve the multi-character, 2D puzzles on the go. We checked it out at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco and the simple little downloadable surprised us.</p>
<p>The game starts out simple, teaching players how to move a single little box around a stark environment. Eventually more rectangles are added, each of varying heights and jumping abilities. Players swap between the three Lost Vikings-style in order to solve environmental puzzles. Sometimes you&rsquo;ll have to use one box character as a stepping stool for the other, or as a bridge to cross a gap. The platforming feels fluid and each box&rsquo;s differing abilities are readily apparent. While the game starts out simple, the complexity of the bite-sized levels evolves into anti-gravity brain-teasers and VVVVVV-esque falling sequences.</p>
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<p><i>A trailer for the PC version.</i></p>
<p>Thomas Was Alone also stands out thanks to its inventive narrative. An English-accented gentleman adds color to the goings on by describing the nondescript boxes&rsquo; personalities. A simple line about two plain-looking boxes resenting one another adds a surprising layer of personality to the visually sterile game.</p>
<p>The game, originally developed by Mike Bithell, will be available digitally on the Vita and PS3 April 30.</p><div style="clear:both;"></div><img src="http://www.gameinformer.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=2683279" width="1" height="1">sonydownloadableplaystationPlayStation 3PlatformingimpulsePreviewThomas Was Alonemike bithellgdc2013